Time for a break. Time to walk away from the newspapers, the TV and the computer. Time to take a breath of fresh air, let the sun warm your face or take a walk in the rain (depending on where you are right now). Take some time to listen to the birds songs, watch the bugs and butterflies. Just sit back, relax, look at the wildflowers in bloom and watch a vegetable garden grow if you can.
It's the first day of summer, and it's a special time, a day, a moment to go outside and just enjoy and celebrate all of the natural wonders that surround us (yes, even in the middle of a city and sometimes in places where you least expect)!
Are you willing to go outside and take a First Day of Summer walk with me?
Look for the Eastern Bluebird after the break ;)
It's the Summer Solstice, the first day of Summer and I'm inspired to write my first diary here :)
My boyfriend likes to tease me because no matter what the weather or season, I'm always saying to him "I love this time of year!" - there is always something remarkable going on and to observe, no matter the date on the calendar ;)
But summer, OH wonderful summer! This really is the best time of year.
I love the smell and taste of the fresh Strawberries we are just now starting to find locally grown. I love being on the rider mower - the smell of fresh cut grass and seeing all the birds picking out the small bugs - very cool. I cheer on and fret over the new fledgling birds we see in the yard. I love seeing the different species of butterflies that fly all over the uncut meadow. And YES, after all these years I'm stll in awe of the gentle,blinking glow of the Fire Flies, what a sight to treasure. If I'm lucky again this year, I may see a shooting star or two on a warm moonlit/starlit night.
All photos here have been taken by me this week, with my lame, little "point and shoot" Canon - a couple in the city, a couple in the suburbs, and the rest in the "country". KUDOS to those of you that correctly ID flora and/or fauna in the above "collage" :)
Here in Western NY we celebrate summer. It makes up for all the snow, the cold temperatures and strong, harsh winds we experience throughout the long winter. This time of year, we are reminded that there is no better place to be but right here and right now.
Back to my beginnings: my happiest and most interesting childhood memories revolve around the Summer Season. Growing up in the 60's and early 70's, I spent my summers at my grandparents' cottage in Southern Ontario, Canada (just a very short drive from Buffalo, NY and over the Peace Bridge). During those years I read books, A LOT. I learned about and how to ID the constellations, native birds, native wildflowers, native bugs/butterflies and native amphibians/reptiles. My "education" didn't just focus on books though, There were plenty of "eye witness/hands on" experiences to fill in some gaps. I found out that it can take a snake 3-4 hours to swallow a frog (GROSS but interesting to see), Fireflies and Bats are really cool to watch after the sun has set and most importantly (for me anyway), grasshoppers/locusts/cicadas aren't really biting you when they land on your bare legs - they just have very sharp, spiny edges on their legs and it hurts when they touch your skin .
Much of who I am and what I am about now can be traced back to those wonderful, warm, hazy, lazy days of summer - heck, maybe being weaned on Labatt's 50/50 and Molson Canadians played a part too - LOL, how many of YOU remember those short, stout brown bottles that needed a "church key"?
Any how, let's fast forward to now: I confess, this time of year the inquisitive "kid" inside of me goes for it! I start looking for Monarch Butterfly eggs on the Milkweed plants. I have a calendar to mark the events/activities for "my" Eastern Bluebirds and Tree Swallow nestlings/nestboxes. I watch and observe the assorted bugs, spiders & butterflies for fun (and still grab my field guide to ID them). I go outside on a New Moon night to try pick out/ID all the constellations, watch the Fire Flies and listen to the crickets chirping. AND I really enjoy (one of my very favorite summer events - the dog, Eh, no so much) a really good fireworks display :)
It may sound sappy and corny, but it just feels "right" to be able to enjoy this time of year as an adult in the same way I did as a younger version - how lucky I am to be here! This is where I can still do all of this just for fun! The added bonus that comes with years, now I can share these summer moments (and hopefully educate/pass on the knowlege/experience that my grandfather passed onto to me) with nephews, nieces, and children of friends. Maybe someday, when they are my age, they will remember that summers are full of wonderful interesting experiences and they will share what they have learned with yet another generation!
So where ever you are today, I hope you take a moment to go outside, realy look at the wonder that surrounds you, and smile. No matter what is going on in the lives of 'us' humans the natural world just keeps doing its thing.
Peace to all of you and to all the creatures great and small that share this unique little planet with us :)